Police say they have responded to these types of calls several times (Picture: REX)

A father wanted to use some hands-on punishment to discipline his daughter recently, however out of fear of breaking the law he called the police to supervise him spanking her.

Incredibly, the police officers were happy to oblige and one of them went to the man’s home in Florida to oversee him smacking the 12-year-old.

The officer determined the smacking did not constitute as a crime, and the man was not arrested.

Defending the officer’s actions, Noel Stephen, the sheriff for Okeechobee county where the father and his daughter live, said: ‘There is a big difference between beating your child and disciplining your child.’

Sheriff Stephen even said that he himself has been called out to 12 different spanking situations like this one.

‘It’s definitely not something we advise to do, and even though law enforcement has been willing to help out in this situation, watching a parent discipline their child is something that’s done only when a deputy has no other calls to handle,’ he said.

Spanking children in Florida is legal providing the child does not receive any serious harm or lasting physical marks from the disciplining.